From needles and paint to non-recyclable plastics, people accumulate all sorts of things that can’t be safely disposed of or shouldn’t end up in the landfill.
It can be challenging to figure out what to do with those items on your own.
Priscilla Dioquino gets it. She’s the voice on the other end of the busy Waste Free SD hotline, answering thousands of calls every year from people all over San Diego County.
“It is really rewarding to think that these people are going to be doing the correct thing and bringing (unwanted waste) to a household hazardous waste facility that I can tell them about, making them appointments or just telling them what options they have,” said Dioquino, who has been working the hotline for the past four years.
She typically searches a public database on the nonprofit’s website and lets callers know where and how to dispose of their unwanted waste. The nonprofit I Love A Clean San Diego maintains information on over 1,700 recycling, disposal and donation centers to run the hotline with support from the county and several cities.
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